Beautiful Disaster
by Haleylovesyou39
Summary: Starfire is handling some insecurities after seeing an article in a magazine. What happens when Robin finds her, and comforts her about those insecurities. Oneshot. R&R please!


Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. I promise. If I did... I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be in Europe spending all my money.

A/N: I wasn't in the mood to write a fluffy Starfire/Robin story tonight. Not at all. Until I watched a video about bullying, and an idea occured to me. One of my main mottos is "I don't want to be a writer. I want to be an inspiration." Well, looking back on my most recent stories, I realized I have lost the inspirational side to my writing. So, this is my inspirational piece. And for those of you who have dealt with bullying in your life, or who are dealing with it right now... just know, you're never alone. And I could say "it gets better," but I know from personal experience that those words sound less and less true every time you hear them. So I shall offer you this: The greatest trials are given to the greatest of fighters. So fight on. And remember, it's what you think of yourself that counts. And what I think. And I think you're all amazing. Every single one of you. Now, on with the story.

**Beautiful Disaster**

Starfire stared into the gleaming mirror before her, running her hand over the skin that covered her face. She trailed her hand down, flattening it over her stomach, and gave a long sigh. Placing both hands on her dresser, she leaned towards the mirror, resting her forehead against the cold glass. It felt like ice against her warm skin, and she focused on this feeling instead of the tears that threatened to flow from her green eyes. Green. That's all her eyes were. The color of trees and grass. Green. The simplest, most ugly color on Earth.

"This is a disaster." Starfire whispered, right as the door to her room opened.

"What's a disaster?" Robin inquired, entering the room with a serious expression set on his otherwise infallible face. _infallible. _That's exactly what Robin was. He would never understand the feeling lodged within Starfire's mind. How could he?

"_This._" Starfire said, turning to him and motioning towards herself. Comprehension fled to Robin's face, and he walked towards the Tamaranean girl slowly.

"Star, what do you mean? You're not a disaster." Robin whispered, grabbing her arm. She brushed him off, turning to face the mirror, avoiding his brooding stare.

"Yes, Robin, I am. This is what girls on Earth are supposed to look like. I do not look like this." Starfire said, sliding a picture torn from a magazine towards him. He cringed as he looked at the picture. The sickly looking actress had nothing on Starfire. Why was she so worried that she didn't look like a twig with no personality? Did she not realize how beautiful she was. Not only in his eyes, but in everyone else's.

"Starfire, where'd you get this?"

"When we were at the mall of shopping earlier, a man sold me something he called a 'magazine.' He told me it was a book of pictures and stories. One of the pages said 'Beautiful Girls to Watch.' Then, as we were leaving the mall, a boy bumped into me and told me to 'watch out, ugly freak.' I did not realize Earth had standards for how people should look. Maybe I do not belong here after all. Not when I look like this, and other people look like... like this." Starfire picked the picture up and pressed her palm against it, holding it up to the mirror. Robin frowned and grabbed the picture again, setting it on her bed, and pulling her down to sit on the edge of the round mattress. She sat facing the wall, hands clasped tightly together in her lap, head hanging down in dissapointment.

"Starfire, look at me," Robin said, using his finger to tilt her head towards his. She looked into his mask, trying not to think about what he must think of her.

_Robin must think that I truly am a disaster. I am not beautiful. I am not a girl to watch._

"Starfire. Do you think that Raven is beautiful?" Robin asked, and Starfire's eyes widened.

"Oh, yes! Friend Raven is quite lovely."

"But Raven doesn't look like the girls in this magazine."

"No. She does not. But she also does not look like me." Starfire answered, hanging her head again.

"Starfire. There's nothing wrong with you. First of all, this magazine... they're paid to tell people what beautiful is in their eyes. But that doesn't mean that those girls are the only beautiful people who live on Earth. In all honesty, Starfire, none of them are even half as beautiful as you are." Robin whispered. Starfire's head shot up, and her eyes met Robin's mask.

"R-Robin, you think that I am beautiful?" Starfire asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Maybe Robin was just trying to cheer her up. But she had heard the sheer honesty in his voice: the way he hadn't stumbled over any of the words he said. The way he kept his eyes on her the whole time. Either Robin was a wonderful liar, or he truly believed that _she _was beautiful.

"Star, I think you're beyond beautiful. The way your eyes light up when you get excited. The way your hair looks when you first wake up - all messy and tangled," Robin said, mussing her fiery red hair, "The way your skin _stays_ tan, even when the sun hasn't come out for weeks. The way your face shifts when you become determined. You're beautiful, Starfire. And you don't need a page in a magazine to prove that."

Robin grabbed the picture from behind them, and tore it in half in front of Starfire's eyes, then folded it and tore it again.

"But Robin, that boy-"

"Was a blind idiot. Starfire, there are people here on Earth who have a vision of what people should look like implanted in their mind. Some people believe that in order to be considered 'beautiful,' you have to walk around with barely any clothing on and no curves. Other people believe that beauty isn't what's on the outside. It's whats on the inside. Those are the people who truly matter. Not the pages of a magazine or the comment some stupid boy makes when you run into him. _You_ are beautiful, Star. Inside and out. Never forget that, okay?" Robin said, and Starfire's head swam with all the information she'd just been given. On Tamaran, looks were simply a thing. They were not defining features. But here on Earth, everything was different.

Starfire was only acutely aware of how close she and Robin were now, their breaths mingling and their hands resting on top of each other's on the bed. In fact, Starfire didn't realize how close the two Titans were until Robin leaned in towards her, kissing her lightly on the lips before pulling away. It wasn't a passionate kiss. Robin didn't allow his lips to linger over hers once the kiss had ended. But it was sweet, and simple. A reminder that he truly believed she was beautiful. And perhaps that was reason enough to begin believing it herself.


End file.
